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Comments

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  Patricia Deany June 6, 2011 at 3:53am

  very satisfying piece.
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  Alaa eddine SAGID June 6, 2011 at 9:43am

  very nice.

   

  this one comes from the same region as my belt buckle. It could havee been worn without fibulas as a simple necklace so don't be bothered

   

   

   
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  Toya June 6, 2011 at 6:03pm

  Thank you for the information, Ayis. Any idea of the age on this? Someone cleaned it, and I have a hard time telling age without patina.
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  Alaa eddine SAGID June 6, 2011 at 11:51pm

  at least first half of the 20th century.

   

  But you have to know that this  type of khamsas have been replaced very early by the classical tunisian khamsas (the one with opus interrasile work) that one can find easily on the market

  The disc was already very scarce and completely abandonned by local women when serious researches were held to survey traditionnal jewellery of tunisia

   

  these discs were a common adornment (but with different chiseling) from siwa oasis in egypt to the middle of Tunisia and throughout lybia
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  Toya June 7, 2011 at 12:11am

  Thank you. Your knowledge in these matters is most impressive. I have seen one photo of a khamsa like this attributed to Lybia and wondered about the origin of this piece.
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  Alaa eddine SAGID June 7, 2011 at 12:37am

  somehow mysteriously classical khamsas were not a common adornment in lybia and one can wonder why, but unfortunately this country remains the only north african country to yet see the publishing of a serious research on its traditonnal jewelery, and i am pretty sure it would be a very rewarding odyssey to do on the terrain as lybian people have mostly kept their old jewelry in their country and even as preserved heirlooms among family members (rich country with a big national pride)....

  The fact is that lybia is a vast desert dotted with oasises, and each human setllements have developped unique jewellery!!

   

  it is not until recently that some bracelets and anklets have made their way outside the country with the lucky and wealthy tourists who visited the country.

   

  the classical tunisian khamsas were later adopted in lybia (especially in tripoli and around) but with the particularity of being made out of gold or at least gilded ( lybia is a rich country). the lybian jewish silversmiths emigrated abroad and tunisian made jewellery was eventually heavily imported

   

  Again the khamsas of your beautiful necklace are typically tunisian ones from around the city of SFAX
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  Joost Daalder June 8, 2011 at 3:28pm

  Hi toya, - There is still a lot of patina left on your piece: it has not been irresponsibly cleaned. If silver is never polished at all it will eventually be ruined by its own heavy tarnish, which is a reason why even the British Museum cleans its silver, including silver which dates back to antiquity. You are lucky to have the piece, AND ayis's scholarly comments on it! Indeed, we are all lucky that we can see your piece, and read ayis's comments on it as well - an instance of the effectiveness of contact achieved through the new technology!

   
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  Toya June 8, 2011 at 5:12pm

  Thank you Joost. Yes we are so lucky to have this site to share  our knowledge and passion for these treasures. And Ayis has been a tremendous help. (Thank you, Ayis!) I did not know that museums cleaned old silver. I use a silver polishing cloth on my pieces, just lightly, but always try to leave some original patina on the back. Also, as I  live in a very damp climate, even sterling silver which is brand new  will turn black, so it is hard for me to tell the difference.
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  Joost Daalder June 9, 2011 at 1:40am

  Toya, - That's an interesting comment indeed! Particularly about the way ALL of your silver turns black quite soon if exposed to the air. I think you are right to polish with a silver cloth only, as much as you can, but if that is not sufficient, it may be necessary, at times, to use a liquid (with care), as, if the copper component which many silver alloys (including sterling for example) include remains neglected and suffers from moisture, it will eventually turn into verdigris, and destroy the piece to that extent. There is almost nothing you can do about verdigris once that hits (its the unpleasant turquoise green which you may have seen at times). I agree you do want to avoid "stripping" the patina, but on the whole, with silver, the risks is at least as big in the other direction. As for "stripping", the most important thing is not to SCOUR it. And indeed, I too leave the back usually undone as much as I can, though not if it is at risk of verdigris.
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  Toya June 9, 2011 at 2:39am

  Joost-I did not know about the verdigris being that destructive, how interesting. I always assumed it could be cleaned off. Not all my silver turns black here. It seems to be the higher silver content pieces ( like sterling) that turn the darkest. The lower silver content or alloys change less. I was just mentioning this because sometimes a new piece of silver can look darker than an old one.The cleaning cloth I use has some kind of silver cleaner injected into the cloth. Thanks for the great advice.